Waterborne (Wanderlust 3)

Chapter Thirty-Three

Tanden opened his eyes to unnatural brightness and a familiar smell.

He blinked, puzzled, and rubbed his eyes as if that would clear the bright light. Then he blinked again and his eyes focused on the woman sitting in the middle of the cave.

"Fuck."

The Wanderlust's figurehead smiled. "Is that any way to greet an old friend?"

Beside him, Jale was curled on her side, fast asleep. Or—

"Are they drugging us?" Tanden asked. "This smell. It's that root. Taos root."

The woman tilted her perfectly sculpted head quizzically. She was dressed differently, Tanden realized. Instead of the breezy blue dress from the beach, she was wrapped in a dark green shawl. It looked like seaweed, maybe, carefully woven together.

"I don't know anything that you don't know."

"Because you aren't real." Tanden sighed and rubbed a hand over his face again. "Fuck."

"I don't know that we quite settled that debate, Captain Tanden."

"I don't know that we can settle it." Tanden touched Jale's shoulder and gave her a gentle shake, to no avail. She didn't look quite right, anyway, so she probably wasn't real. Too bright, too clean. Tanden looked at the woman again. "I didn't handle this drug particularly well last time."

"You seem to be handling it fine."

Tanden gestured at the lit walls of the cave. There was no light source. "Really?"

She smiled. "Point taken." Her gaze dropped as she slipped one arm out from under the shawl and began to trace wavy lines into the dusty floor. Her skin was charred and flaking.

Even though she wasn't real, Tanden's stomach twisted at the realization that she wasn't drawing in the dust. She was drawing with her finger, as if it was a stick of charcoal. Leaving behind black, wavy lines. The ocean.

He swallowed. "I would have gone down with you."

"Noble, but there's no need for that," she said softly.

"Is—" He wasn't sure why he was asking, but he felt compelled to do so. "Is Soren with you?"

"Soren?" She looked up. "He deserves better."

Tanden nodded. "I know. I would... I won't mind dying here."

"Captain Tanden, the first man to visit twelve countries."

"It's a good legacy."

"Not even Jale can claim that many."

He looked down at Jale. "She's probably the first woman to visit ten, though."

"It would be a shame to not show her Valdon and Faldon."

"It is."

"You still could."

Tanden raised his head. "What?"

"Faldon is North of here," she said, her voice just as soft as before. "There might be ways, through the mountains."

She wasn't drawing waves; she was drawing mountains. It wasn't an ocean; it was a map.

Tanden pushed himself to his feet and joined her in the middle of the cave. It was a map, but it wasn't a clear one. He couldn't tell if this was a deity giving him information, or his own mind speculating. Either way...

He traced one of the mountain ridges with one finger. "Through the mountains."

The woman touched his wrist. Her fingers felt dry and warm. "Jale can navigate mountains."